Vicars Monthly Letter
August 2008 Mind The Gap
Dear Friends,
August is a month when many of us enjoy a bit more space in our busy lives - take things at a more leisurely pace - enjoy a change of scenery and the warmer weather.
I hope a good number will enjoy a genteel afternoon in the vicarage garden on 9th August - enjoying a salmon sandwich a delicious scone and a cup of tea, or three - and all in a good cause too.
These days many young people take a gap year between college and university or before entering full time employment. It can be an important educational and maturing experience.
In the recent years two courses have been run at St George’s aimed at filling gaps in our spiritual lives. And I am planning to run them again from September.
The Alpha Course has been around the world and for many years. Its longevity and its use by most Christian denominations, speaks of its quality and the engaging manner and sincerity of its presenter, Nicky Gumble.
Around 40 in St George’s have done Alpha so there’s plenty of opportunity to get a local opinion.
Whether you would like to fill in some gaps in your understanding of the Christian faith, deepen your relationship with Jesus or come to know Him personally for the first time, Alpha could be right for you.
The second course on offer in September is the Doorway Course.
We were among the very first group of churches to run this course. The few who attended were very impressed.
Doorway is designed for those who have completed an Alpha Course and want to continue to fill in gaps in their knowledge of the Bible, the Church and how faith works in the wider world.
Doorway at St George’s will be open to participates from any local Anglican Church. This gives us the chance to meet other local Christians and hear from people of a tradition different from ours. We have much to learn from one another.
It is a sad fact that many Church members never engage in any structured learning once they leave Sunday School or a Church Youth Group.
The gaps that we have in our understanding or our relationship with God can sometimes mean we are ill-equipped to get the most out of life or handle the storms that come our way.
An announcer’s voice on the London underground warns those waiting to board an incoming train to “Mind the Gap”. Do reflect on the spiritual gaps in your life this August and think seriously about beginning to fill them this September with knowledge, understanding and a deeper experience of the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
July 2008 'One World, One Dream'
Dear Friends,
As ‘Messenger week’ approaches each month, I ask Marion the same question. “What should I write about in the Vicar’s letter?”
Being wise, she usually doesn’t give me any suggestions! But this month she said, “Tell ’em about our holiday in Madeira”. And, in a way, that was prophetic.
Something I do to unwind on holiday is to read a book that I wouldn’t normally read. This time I read a book that had caught my eye in the airport - a history of ‘The Great Wall’ of China by John Man.
Not only does he chart the 2000 year history of the Wall but gives fascinating insights into the Chinese character and way of thinking.
The growth of China’s prosperity, power and influence in the world has been phenomenal. The abuse of human rights shown by its leadership, both within China and in its foreign policies, is disturbing. But China will not go away and the world has to deal with that reality.
Many lobbied for the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing to be boycotted in protest, particularly at China’s treatment of Tibet. It’s interesting that Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, wants the games to go ahead.
Until recently, China has been a very closed society. The Beijing Olympics not only give China an opportunity to promote itself, it lays itself open to outside influences.
The Church in China, particularly the more evangelical and mission orientated Churches, has been suppressed and severely persecuted. But, read on in this edition and see clear evidence that God is still at work in China.
The motto for the Beijing Games is “One World, One Dream”. There is indeed just One World for us all to share and the Bible tells us that that world is God’s world.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” we read in the opening verse of Psalm 24.
What China’s Dream is for this One World I wouldn’t like to guess. The Bible gives us a very good idea of what God’s wants the world to be like. God came in the person of Jesus Christ to show us and to reconcile the world to himself through his death and resurrection.
God the Holy Spirit brings the Church in prophesy, visions and dreams an understanding of God’s will for His creation. (Acts 2:17)
Language, culture, international borders are no barrier to the Spirit of God. Let’s pray at this important moment for the Church in China and the hundreds of Christian sports men and women who will be in China this summer. May China’s One Dream become God’s Dream for His World.
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
June 2008 'Born Again'
Dear Friends,
I was surprised, saddened and shocked when I heard the results of the voting on the recent Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
The most disturbing aspect for me was the decision not to reduce the maximum term for abortion from the current 24 weeks to at least 20 weeks - the image opposite is of a foetus at 5 months.
But the Bill contained a very varied set of issues on which MP’s were asked to decide.
The rightness of producing hybrid animal-human embryos. The requirement for there to be a father around before IVF treatment is approved. The selection of a “saviour sibling” embryo from the several that IVF produces. The rights of the unborn child against those of its mother to abort it.
The science surrounding some of these decisions is very complex and uncertain. If it were not so, the issues would not be so divisive.
But I began to think more simply (some might say more ‘childishly’, others more ‘child-like’) about this particular range of issues.
As I did I found they came up against key Biblical principles. And in a way that only reinforced in my mind how wrong all the decisions taken in parliament had been - with the possible exception of one.
In Genesis, it is made very clear how special humanity is in God’s creation. We are the only beings created ‘in the image of God’. When God brought the animals to Adam, ‘no suitable companion’ for him could be found among them.
Producing hybrid human-animal embryos is surely wrong.
The predominant image that God has given us, in Old and New Testament, for our relationship with Himself is that of Father and child.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray to ‘our Father in heaven’. Fathers are so important!
Reducing the importance of a father’s presence in the nurture of a child to zero is surely wrong.
Jesus had a radical view of children - valued them in a way that was most unusual at that time.
Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about entering the kingdom of God in terms of being ’born again’. Jesus would die that we might be born again as children of God through faith in Him and by the Spirit.
God, in Jesus Christ, has shown such a love for his ‘un-born’ children. Surely we must show the same for the unborn child.
God’s love for us is so great that He came and took flesh in the womb of Mary. He became one of us (our ‘Brother’) in the person of Jesus Christ. Is Christ, then, the supreme ‘Saviour Sibling’?
What do you think?
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
May 2008 'Election'
Dear Friends,
Over passed weeks the topic of elections have never left the news headlines.
From the outbreak of violence following the Kenyan elections; the delayed announcement of the election results in Zimbabwe; the very close race in the Democratic Party primaries to elect a presidential election candidate in the USA; and the upcoming local government elections in the UK.
On St George’s day evening we had our own Annual Church meeting and elected new members to our Church Council. Actually, we had just enough candidates to fill all vacancies and so we didn’t have to go to a vote!
Elections are very important because they give communities, countries and even Churches an opportunity to chose to whom they will give the authority and responsibility to make policies and take decisions on their behalf.
I would take this opportunity to encourage all who are eligible to vote on 1st May. Furthermore, I would suggest that, as Christians, we have a responsibility to vote for candidates whose policies echo Christian values. A love for neighbour and a special concern and care for the most needy and vulnerable in our community, regardless of their ethnicity.
In ‘earthly’ elections the many elect individuals to positions of power and authority for the purpose of governing for the common good. As in many other things, God turns the whole matter of election on its head.
God is not democratic. Because He is Creator and Sustainer of all things, He is sovereign over all. This should be a huge relief to humanity because God is not only perfect in power but also in justice, mercy and love.
And the Bible teaches that it is not we who elect God but it is God who elects us. We see this from the choosing of Abram and his descendants, by way of the judges, kings and prophets of the Old Testament, to the actions of God in Jesus Christ and the activity of the Spirit of God in forming the Church.
We hear it in the words of Jesus to his first disciples. Normally, young men would choose which of the various Rabbi to follow and learn from. But Jesus reminds them, “You did not me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last.” (John 15:16)
In their letters to the Church both Paul (Titus 1:1) and Peter (1Peter 1:1) refer to them (and so us) as ‘God’s elect’.
As members of the Church, we have the awesome Privilege of being elected by God. He gives us awesome Power through the gift of the Holy Spirit. He calls us to fulfil His perfect Purposes in the world. Let’s Pray we do so in our lives.
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
April 2008 'Good News People'
Dear Friends,
Some years ago a TV news presenter got himself into hot water for criticising the amount of bad news that was being broadcast. Well, I don’t think very much has or will change in the way the media reports the news of the world.
Rather than complain, I think Christians should rejoice that they have a wide-open, niche market to fill with Good News.
Jesus came calling people to “repent and believe the Good News.” (Mark 1:15)
Just how good that news is was revealed through the events of Good Friday and Easter.
God in Jesus Christ entered the evil and suffering in the world and took upon himself the very worst that man could inflict on man. And yet he still spoke words of forgiveness as they crucified him.
The ‘News’ that came from the mouth of the empty tomb, the angels and the lips of the risen Lord Jesus himself was indeed ‘Good’.
Evil had been defeated by goodness; sin by forgiveness; hatred by love; and death by the eternal life of God.
This is the Good News of Easter that the risen Lord Jesus gave to his disciples. They were to broadcast it to every nation, by word and deed, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Surely Jesus’ words to them are also words to each and every Christian. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21f)
In a series of sermons that runs through the season of Easter, we’ll be looking at what it means to be ‘Good News People’.
To help us, we’ll be looking at the record of the early Church and some individual Christians that we find in the book of Acts.
If the message of Easter really is Good News, how did those first Christians Receive it, Live it, Die it, and Obey it? These are the questions the series will seek to answer.
In most of our Home Groups we’ll be looking at just what the Good News is in more detail and how we might share it in 21st Century Britain.
Elsewhere in this edition of The Messenger you’ll find news of a Conference on our doorstep at St John’s Dukinfield, on how Churches might be Good News in the wider community. Do go along on Saturday 5th April, if you can.
If not, why not come along to Prayer Stop in the lounge and do what every one of us can do for the Church and the World - pray!
Have a joyful Eastertide!
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
March 2008 'The Passion'
Dear Friends,
Ask someone if they’re ‘passionate’ about someone or something and you’ll expect a whole range of answers.
Today, being passionate is often equated with expressing erotic love for another person. But people can also get passionate about a football team, steam engines, a certain type of music, dogs or food.
The original meaning of the word ‘passion’ is ‘suffering’. I guess the word began to be applied to the intense feeling we can have for someone, or even something, because it can produce within us something akin to pain.
The 5th Sunday in Lent is traditionally known as Passion Sunday and begins the season of Passiontide that runs until Easter.
During the days of Passiontide the Church is encouraged to reflect on the passion i.e. the suffering, of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We often find ourselves focussing on the physical pain that Christ suffered when he was flogged and then crucified.
But the gospels also point to the pain He suffered as his own people rejected him while his disciples fled and even publicly denied him.
On the cross, the crowd mocked, taunted and tempted him to ‘come down and save yourself’. But there He stayed - to the end.
Perhaps the greatest pain by far was expressed by Jesus in that final cry of dereliction, ’My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Most see in that cry the moment when Christ took ‘the sins of the world’ upon himself and suffered the terrible consequence - separation from God and death.
We must never forget that the suffering of the Son at that moment was also surely experienced by the Father and Holy Spirit. Dare we say, the very ‘fabric’ of the Trinity was torn by our sin at that moment.
Why God was willing to endure that suffering is the very heart of the gospel - the good news. It was ‘because God so loved the world …’ Because God is passionate about us.
Love and pain are often bedfellows, in our own lives. In bereavement or the suffering of a loved one. Watching a wayward son or daughter harm themselves. Our suffering is a measure of our love - of our passion for them.
Surely, the right response to the passion of God, revealed in Christ, is a passionate one. So, may we be a people passionate in our worship of God, passionate in our prayers, passionate in our service of others and passionate in our desire to share the good news of God’s passion for us all.
Do take the opportunity to read about the upcoming BBC 1 series ‘The Passion’ in this edition.
Have a passionate Easter!
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
February 2008 'Ash Wednesday'
Dear Friends,
I hope that you will all take the time to read and reflect upon Donald Allister’s article ‘Experiencing Lent’ in the Chester Diocesan News or February.
In it he encourages us to make extra time for studying the Bible, ideally in the company of others.
This Lent our home groups will again be using a resource from York Courses to look at the Lord’s Prayer in five sessions.
You’ll find more details about the course content and where and when our home groups meet, over the page. Why not join a group just for Lent 08?
The beginning of the season of Lent is marked by many Churches with a special service on Ash Wednesday in which anyone who wishes can receive the sign of the cross, marked in ash, on their forehead.
The PCC agreed that this symbolic act should be offered this year at St George’s. It’s important that the meaning of and background to the practice is understood.
In the Old Testament we read how God’s chosen people Israel often sinned against God. When they came to their senses and turned back to God in sorrow and repentance this was often accompanied by the act of covering their head with ashes and even wearing rough clothing (read two examples in Job 42:6 and Jeremiah 6:26).
Jesus even alludes to the practice as an outward sign of a true and heart-felt repentance in Matthew 20:21.
In the very early Christian Church, it was the custom for those who were preparing for baptism at Easter to have ash sprinkled on their heads at the beginning of the 40 day period of preparation.
Very soon, those already baptised adopted the practice as a sign of their repentance too.
The practice of ashing was abolished by the 16th century Reformers - fearing anything that obscured the truth that forgiveness can only be found through faith in Jesus Christ and his death on a cross for our sins.
Today, many find ashing in the shape of the cross a powerful reminder of both our mortality and God’s saving grace.
These words from God to disobedient Adam are used at the signing, “From dust you came and to dust you will return…” (Gen. 3:19) But the sign of the empty cross speaks of God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
It is my hope and those on the worship sub-group that this act will enrich and deepen our understanding and experience of God’s grace this Lent.
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
January 2008 'The Stig and Jesus'
Dear Friends,
We really hit the bulls-eye with one of our presents this year. Just for fun, we bought a remote controlled car for our son. Even though he’s an adult (or perhaps because he is!) he was delighted. The main reason being that it was packaged as a “Top Gear” product, complete with The Stig as its model driver.
What I wasn’t expecting was to receive the same present from my daughter! We had a great time over Christmas racing our cars around the lounge.
If all this is not part of your world, let me explain. “Top Gear” is a TV programme that looks at the latest cars -usually from the top of the range - with the help of three off-the-wall (or should that be ‘off-the-crash barrier’), male chauvinist presenters. It has a huge ‘cult’ following.
One of the other regulars on the programme is the mysterious character known as The Stig. He is an expert test driver and puts the powerful cars through their paces round the “Top Gear” test track. The thing is that he never speaks. On camera, he never removes his helmet to show his face. The running question on the show is, “Who is The Stig?”
Many people outside the Church would ask the same question about Jesus. “Who is Jesus?” To many, he is just a name. It’s important that we who follow Jesus know the answer to that question.
During the Sundays of January we’ll look at the person of Jesus. Like The Stig, He drove a perfect line around the bends and through the chicanes of life. He never left the track that had been designed by God his Father. And, in the end, he won the race.
The Stig achieves his victories by completing the circuit in the fastest time as he crosses the finish line. But it was at a time of his choosing that Jesus won His victory - once and for all - over sin and death. He took a perfect line to the Cross. There, as he died, he cried, “It is finished!”
“A strange victory,” many would say. We need to be able to explain how it is a victory and not a defeat. How we can share in His victory and the new life it brings.
The word Epiphany means to reveal something that was hidden. Jesus, unlike The Stig, was not silent but spoke with the authority of God himself. Jesus, also came to show us the face of God in all he did and said. He is God with the ‘helmet off’.
The beginning of a New Year is often the time when we resolve to do something important.
Let’s get to know Jesus better during 2008 and so get into ‘top gear’ for the race of our lives.
Have a very Happy New Year!
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen
September 2007 ‘Care for the Family’
Dear Friends,
I write as two people, one aged 14 and the other 18, have been arrested in connection with the murder of 11 year old Rhys Jones in Liverpool.
This is a crime that has stunned and saddened us all. It is impossible to imagine the pain that Rhys’ family must be going through. And what of the family of the perpetrators of this terrible and callous act– how will they feel?
Sadly, it is just one more in a whole string of violent incidents involving young people that have made the headlines.
A recent UNICEF report placed the UK bottom of developed countries in terms of children's well-being. Many people who work with children have called for a public debate about our market-driven society's impact on childhood.
As that debate begins, there is already broad agreement that the family must be central to any attempt to improve the lot of children and young people in our society. The Church can and does make many important contributions to supporting families.
The Christian organisation ‘Care for the Family’ is very well respected and has developed a range of resources to support families.
Last year the PCC agreed to fund a person to attend a training course on how to deliver their package, ’How to drug proof your kids’
I was delighted that Muriel Nichols felt drawn to offer herself for training and has now completed the course with ‘Care for the Family’.
The next step is for Muriel to monitor a course as it is delivered locally by people with some experience. She will then be in a position to run a course at St George’s.
Muriel will need the support of two or three other volunteers to help her run the course. It would be very useful if they could go with Muriel to monitor a course being delivered locally.
If you have an interest in getting involved in this project, please would you speak with Muriel or myself soon.
This is one example of what I hope we will increasingly want to be doing as a Church. Fulfilling part of our vision and Christ’s commission, as we “care for our Neighbours”.
All these initiatives need funding. And yet we are not in a position to fund the day to day normal running costs of St George’s. This is why the PCC decided we had to launch a Christian Giving Initiative this Autumn.
A planning sub-group of the PCC, chaired by Bob Taylor, has already been at work. This month sees the launch of the Initiative with an article in this edition from Martin Smith, the Chester Diocesan Adviser in Christian Giving. Later this month, Martin will be speaking at both our morning services.
Please think, pray and respond as God prompts you on these issues.
Your brother in Christ,
Stephen.
August 2007 ‘Floods of Tears’
Dear Friends,
As I write, I’ve just heard that the UK has had its wettest May to July quarter since records began 1766. I’m sure we’ve all been saddened to see the devastation that flooding has caused around the country.
What a time to release the film Evan Almighty (a sequel to Bruce Almighty, from which we’ve had clips recently in our services) which is a modern re-working of the Bible account of Noah and the flood that we find in Genesis 6-9.
The Bishop of Carlisle made the headlines at the beginning of July when he warned that the flooding was God’s judgement on the ‘moral degradation’ of our society and ‘the environmental changes’ brought about by our abuse of the earth’s resources.
The Bishops of Liverpool and London also spoke about the greed of the West being satisfied at the expense of other nations and the environment. Something, the Bible clearly says, angers God.
I have no doubt that the God who created everything from nothing and who can still a storm with a word of command, can also choose to send storms. But I don’t think he needs to.
I believe that God, with tears, allows us to suffer the consequences of our own sinfulness. St Paul put it this way to the Galatian church. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)
I call that perfect justice.
But to those who turn back to God, there is the promise of forgiveness
and restitution. That is called grace.
Repentance must begin with the Church. But then the Church is called to be a prophetic voice. Calling others to repentance that they too might experience the grace of God - his underserved love and blessing.
Another consequence of the present suffering of so many on our doorstep might be to open our eyes to the plight of millions around the world.
A lady in Gloucester, for whom I had the greatest sympathy, said on a TV report, “This is no life. My home has been wrecked by the flooding and now I have no running water. I have to think carefully whether I should have a cup of tea and when to flush the loo.”
Perhaps recent events will concentrate our minds and cause us to be more compassionate and generous towards those for whom these are everyday decisions - for whom this is life.
Like those among whom Colin Smith works in the shanty town of Kibera, Nairobi. Whose sewer is an open trench and who have to walk some distance to a communal stand pipe for clean water.
Meanwhile, let’s do what we can to help in practical ways. Let’s pray for those who have suffered in recent weeks and for an outbreak of fine summer weather soon.
Your brother in Christ, Stephen.
July 2007 - ‘The Earth is the Lord’s’
Dear Friends,
Environmental issues are seldom out of the headlines these days - and quite rightly so. As Christians we should be among the first to care for God’s creation, be mindful of our global neighbour and encourage others to do the same.
God made everything with great care and “God saw it was good”, we read in the opening chapter of Genesis. Finally, “God created man in his own image … male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
God then commanded that they “be fruitful … fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over …” all living creatures. (Genesis 1:28)
Some have interpreted this privileged position of humanity as ‘subdue-ers’ and ’rulers’ as a licence from God to use the earth’s resources in a selfish way.
But this fails to remember that we are also to behave in an ’image of God’ way. Caring about and for everything that God has made - and especially, our neighbour.
This means that Christians should encourage good stewardship of the earth’s resources; use them only in ways that are sustainable and not behave in ways that have a negative impact on our neighbour.
All Mottram Deanery Churches are being invited to participate in an environmental event being run by St John’s, Dukinfield in conjunction with a Christian organisation that focuses on environmental issues called ‘A Rocha’.
If you have an interest in environmental issues, as in fact we all should have, why not put this event in your diary or on your calendar, now - Sunday 7th October, from 3:00 pm - the same day as our Harvest Thanksgiving.
‘A Rocha’ has also worked in partnership with Scripture Union to produce ’Waste Watchers’, the resource material that we are using for our Holiday Club this year. As a consequence, it includes some material on environmental issues.
At the Holiday Club planning meeting we felt we have a good opportunity to maintain contact with the children who attend this year beyond the week of the Club.
We decided it would be really worthwhile to explore the possibility of launching a children’s club that would meet regularly to carry out environmental projects in the grounds of our church.
We have extensive grounds that are currently mainly down to grass. I know there is an issue about vandalism. But I feel this should not be used as an excuse for not making better use of our grounds - transforming them from a maintenance burden into an asset, useful for teaching our children how to care for God’s creation.
Anyone interested in becoming involved in this as an ongoing project, please have a word with me.
Your brother in Christ, Stephen
June 2007 ‘Not more baptisms’
Dear Friends,
In the first quarter of this year we have had more enquiries for infant baptism than in the whole of last year. Part of the reason is that the word is spreading that St George’s is a welcoming and family-friendly church. I hope you’re as encouraged by that as I am!
The consequence is that quite often in our 10:45am Sunday service we now have a large number of people who we haven’t seen in church before.
This can be a little unsettling for some and I felt that I needed to address some of the issues.
Some might have reservations about infant baptism. My position is that infant baptism makes sound theological sense if the parents are Christians.
If parents and godparents are willing to declare their allegiance to Christ and undertake to bring up their child within the family of the Church, the Church cannot refuse to baptise their child.
What must happen, though, is for the parents (and where possible the godparents) to be given the opportunity to understand what it is they are being invited to say at the font.
To do so means that they need to understand and believe the basics of the Christian faith; understand the significance of baptism and undertake to give to their (god)child an example of living the Christian life. This includes become a part of the worshipping community of faith.
To that end, I first visit every family that requests baptism in their own home. We usually spend about an hour getting to know one another and beginning to think about these things.
If the parents wish to proceed to the next stage, I invite them and all the godparents who can, to attend a preparation evening in church.
At this session we look again at the basics of the Christian faith, the meaning of baptism and go through the baptism service in some detail.
The decision whether or not to proceed to baptism is then left to the parents and godparents.
At the baptism service all those present have an opportunity to experience and join in the worship and to hear God’s word read and preached.
Against this background, I invite us all to reflect on these questions ...
In what other situation do we have the opportunity to speak to people who are not often regular Church goers, about the Christian faith?
To what lengths would we have to go to bring into our Sunday services so many people who aren’t normally with us?
Is this not exactly what Christ would have us be doing?
Is this not the very reason we have been trying to make our 10:45am service more accessible?
Your brother in Christ, Stephen.
April 2007
Dear Friends
“Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified.” This is the instruction given to those about to be baptised, as the sign of the cross is made on their forehead.
In our age, a cross is more likely to be seen as a fashion accessory than as an object of shame. But in the early years of the Church the fact that Christ had been crucified and died on a cross was a real stumbling-block for many.
The cross was a brutal and agonising method of capital punishment reserved by the Romans for those who challenged their rule.
For Jews, it was a particularly shameful way to die as “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse”. (Deuteronomy 21:23)
The disciple Peter makes the connection between ‘cross’ and ‘tree’ in his first letter. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree …” (1 Peter 2:23). This adds poignancy to our cross in church at the moment being made of the trunks of two Christmas trees.
Against this background it seems strange that anyone would want to wear a cross out of choice. Would anyone choose to wear an electric chair or a hangman’s noose fashioned in silver or gold?
And yet there are many Christians who would go along way to defend their right to wear a cross. Nadia Eweida, the BA employee, was a recent case in point. Our bishops, of course, wear a pectoral cross as one of the signs of their special calling and office.
The Church adopted the cross as it’s central symbol because it speaks of the lengths to which God was willing to go to rescue us from the consequences of our sinfulness. That “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son ….” to suffer and die in this way for us. (John 3:16)
In the early years of the Church the cross of Christ was often seen as foolish or scandalous. Today, many who wear it on earrings or a chain around their neck do not give a thought to its symbolic meaning. That it is a powerful reminder of just how much God loves each and every one of us.
The next time you meet a friend or neighbour wearing a cross, you might like to ask them if they understand what it stands for. Who knows where (or rather, to Whom!) the conversation might lead them.
St Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16) We should not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ crucified either but long to share it with
others.
Have a joyful Easter.
Your brother in Christ, Stephen.
March 2007
Dear Friends,
As I write this, it has recently been confirmed that the Blues and Royals are soon to be deployed in Iraq. Among them will be that blue-blooded royal and heir to the throne, Prince Harry.
Having recently passed out from Sandhurst as a second lieutenant, the Prince was determined to go with his men, despite the dangers.
Whatever we may think of the decision to go to war in Iraq, most will be impressed by his attitude. His determination to stick by his men; to fulfil the role for which he has been prepared and to join in the battle against those who are bringing chaos, death and destruction in that country.
Some have also pointed out how this will affect the rest of the royal family, especially his father, Prince Charles, and his grandparents.
They will share, in a new way, in the suffering and the anxiety of all who wait for their children and grandchildren to return.
I could not help thinking about another Prince - Prince of Peace was one of His titles. He also left the safety of His Father’s side to do battle against evil.
He, too, had been prepared for that moment - but since before creation or time began. When He came He was given the name Jesus.
He laid aside his majesty and became a brother alongside those engaged in the struggle against human sin and evil. He fought to bring an end to the chaos, suffering and death that both cause.
The weapons He used were not bullets, rockets or bombs but the power of love, mercy and grace. He came to bring in a new regime - the kingdom of God.
The signs of that kingdom were people healed, sins forgiven and some even raised from death to life.
In all this He was motivated by love for all - even those who were his enemy. In all this He was fulfilling perfectly his Father’s will.
Jesus knew that He was the only one who could defeat the enemy, sin, and overcome its consequence, death. And the only way to victory was for Him to die.
We cannot even imagine the pain of the Father as He saw His Son suffer and die on the cross. The bitter irony of the title under which he died - This is the King of the Jews. Too meagre a charge by a long way.
But O what joy when the job was done, victory won and the Father could bring His son home again!
And there He now sits, enthroned in heavenly glory, waiting for that day when ‘every knee will bow and every tongue tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philippians 2:10f)
May God grant Prince Harry a safe return home too.
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Stephen.
February 2007
Dear Friends,
I have to confess that I’ve only been able to tolerate watching the programme for a few minutes before switching off or over. But the rumpus over Jade Goodey’s treatment of Shilpa Shetty on Big Brother has been unavoidable and raises serious issues.
It’s clear that the Channel 4 programme sets out to engineer dramatic confrontations between people. Put people of different temperaments and backgrounds in that setting and the result is almost inevitable.
The very fact that the people in the Big Brother house know that millions will be watching and listening to them 24/7, says a lot about them. What some will do to win 15 minutes of “fame”!
The fact that millions of us tune in regularly to watch and listen, says a lot about the human condition. Is there a bit of the ‘Peeping Tom’ in all of us? Perhaps knowing about other people’s problems and watching their conflicts somehow make us ‘feel better’ about our own problems and failings?
Many speak about the importance of being a tolerant society. But I don’t think the word tolerance has much place in a Christian understanding of the nature of God or how God would have us behave.
Look up ‘tolerance’ in a dictionary and you’ll find it means the ability to put up with or permit something one finds disagreeable, bad or even poisonous.
Through the Bible, God has not revealed himself to be tolerant. God, who sees all and knows all, is perfect and holy and does not tolerate anything that is unholy.
And, as God created humanity ‘in His image’, he calls us to be holy and equally intolerant of behaviour that is unjust, corrupt, abusive, jealous, proud etc. etc.
What we are called to tolerate or, much better, to celebrate, is difference that causes no harm. God’s creation is wonderfully diverse - He made each of us uniquely different.
What we find in the Bible is not the rather grudging and permissive word tolerance but the generous and embracing word love.
God does not tolerate our harmful attitudes and behaviour - our sinfulness. He loves us too much to allow us to remain in that unholy and dangerous condition.
Instead, because God loves us, He came in Jesus. On the cross He became the way that we, by repentance and faith, become holy in God’s sight.
God then bring us, by the Holy Spirit, the capacity to love one another in the way he loves us.
In Jesus Christ we find our true ‘Big Brother’. Let’s look to Him as our example, listen to Him as our guide and spend time with Him this Lent.
Your friend and little brother in Christ,
Stephen.